How gut bacteria affect brain health

The hundred trillion bacteria living in our gut have a significant impact on human behaviour and brain health, reports an Indian American researcher.

"The diverse gut bacteria can impact normal brain activity and development, affect sleep and stress responses, play a role in a variety of diseases and be modified through diet for therapeutic use," said Sampath Parthasarathy, Florida Hospital Chair in Cardiovascular Sciences at University of Central Florida, Orlando.

For the most up-to-date understanding of the relationship between the proteins produced by intestinal bacteria and the human central nervous system, Parthasarathy and colleagues explored various mechanisms through which the microbiome can influence the brain.

These are: By stimulating and over-stimulating the immune system, producing neurotoxic agents, releasing hormones or neurotransmitters identical to those made by the human body or through direct neuronal stimulation that sends signals to the brain.

"The microbiome has become a hot topic in many branches of medicine, from immune and inflammatory diseases, such as Crohn's and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBD) to cardiovascular diseases," Parthasarathy noted.

Scientists are not only aware of the 'good' and the 'bad' microbes in the gut but are becoming increasingly aware of how they could alter the metabolism beyond gut, he added.

The article titled "The Gut Microbiome and the Brain" appeared in Journal of Medicinal Food.